Fred's Secret
by Folyon-Dunedain
Summary: It's a month after the battle of Hogwarts and George makes a startling discovery. Thank you for the reviews! Anymore reviews and tips on how to improve would be really helpful, thanks!
1. Chapter 1

A month after the battle of Hogwarts, George went back to working in the shop. He had decided he wanted to carry on what he and Fred had worked so diligently for, although it grieved him greatly that his best friend and brother could not be at his side with him.

It was during an evening after George had finished work and locked up that he had made a discovery. George went up to the attic rooms where he and Fred had twin beds across from one another, and flopped down on his. Too exhausted to change, he closed his eyes and slept, dreamlessly.

As he awoke early the next morning, the pale morning sun shone through a gap in the curtains and rested upon a slightly pushed up floor board at the end of Fred's old bed. Curious, George got up from where he was laying and walked over to it. Lifting the floorboard slightly, he found it was quite easily removed and that this was not the first time it had been. Within the hole that had been revealed, there were many pieces of parchment, but the one thing that leapt out at George was a photograph. This was no ordinary wizarding photograph, for one thing the picture was motionless, although this wasn't what George noticed first about it. There was a girl in the picture, and not one whom he recognised.

"But we never kept secrets from each other!" George said aloud, startled by this discovery.

Unsure whether or nor he should look through Fred's private things, George hesitated. Fred was allowed a few secrets right? No. I will never have peace of mind until I know. George thought as he reached forward to the closest piece of parchment.

inquisitiveness, On it, he read:

My dearest Fred,

These last few weeks have been terrible. I know that you said it is dangerous for us to see each other for a while, but I miss you ever so much. I still don't understand why this You-Know-Who might harm me if we're seen together and what exactly is happening. Though of course you are probably right, this is for the best. I just hope this wizarding war of yours ends soon, I want to see you again!

In your last letter you said that you thought that a battle is brewing and that its only a matter of time until you have to fight. Promise me that you will be careful! I couldn't bare it if you were injured, or worse killed! Keep me up to date with any news and stay safe.

My love always,

Violet

George stared blankly at the parchment after he had finished reading it. Fred had a secret relationship! It was obvious that this girl was a muggle, not at all connected to wizards. He got up and placed the parchment back into the hole and recovered it with the floorboard, he didn't think it right to pry anymore, he had got what he wanted.

A week passed and all George could think about was the mysterious girl, Violet. He went back to the floorboard and looked at the picture again. Violet was quite pretty, with long chestnut hair that was tied up with an emerald green ribbon. Her eyes were hazel and rather mischievous-looking, which George guessed was the first thing that caught Fred's eye when they first met.

When George went to bed that night, his mind was buzzing, full of so many unanswered questions; how did they meet? When did they meet? And the most prominent question: Why didn't he tell me?

George's eyes drifted shut but just before he fell into a deep sleep, there was a blinding flash. Startled, George sat up and looked at the direction of the flash. On Fred's bed there was a small wooden box. As if in a trance, George walked over to it and picked it up. There was nothing on the box, except a circle. George held his breath and opened it. Inside was a folded piece of parchment. He picked it up and sat on the bed to read it:

Dear Freddie,

I know you told me not to write to you until you wrote to me first, but I just couldn't bear it any longer. Its been two months! I'm ever so worried as in your last letter you told me you were leaving for Hogwarts and that you would write when you returned.

If you can, meet me at midnight in Ottery St. Catchpole, outside the butchers. If for any reason you can't make it, send me a letter back.

My love always,  
Violet

George sat on the bed, swamped with guilt. Of course, she hadn't heard about Fred's death. She thought he was still alive. But she can't be left in the dark about all of this! George thought. He looked at the watch his parents had bought him for his seventeenth birthday, it was half past eleven.

"I have to tell her." George sighed as he got up from the bed.

He changed into his muggle clothes and grabbed his coat. It was now quarter to twelve. George walked down the stairs, through the shop and out of the door.

"Here goes..." He said as he quickly apparated.

He arrived in Ottery St. Catchpole, in the alleyway beside the butchers. Nervously George walked out to the front of the shop, and leaned on the wall.

"Freddie...?"

George looked up, startled. He hadn't heard anyone approaching. His eyes met a girl. She looked identical to the one in the photograph, she was Violet. She obviously noticed his curious expression.

"No... You're George aren't you?" Violet moved closer towards him.

George nodded, at a loss of what he should say next, unsure of when and how he would break the news about Fred to her.

"We should probably go somewhere more private." George suggested, he felt rather anxious to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Violet agreed and lead the way. Silently they walked, until they reached the outskirts of the village, where they followed a path which led to a large oak tree. Hanging from the tree was a rope ladder, Violet gestured to the ladder and climbed up, George followed. At the top of the ladder there was a tree house, almost perfectly made (most likely by magic).

"So where is Fred?" Violet asked.

George looked at his hands and then decided to sit on the floor. Violet did the same. They were both silent for a moment. George then broke the silence.

"I found the letters that you sent Fred. I had no idea that you were secretly together." George took a deep breath and forced himself to look into Violets eyes. "I'm sorry that I'm the one who has to tell you, but... Fred died."

Violet's eyes widened, tears slowly filled them. Then she started shaking her head, unable to take in the news she had just recieved.

"It was an explosion caused by Deatheaters. He fought very bravely though..." George's words faded as tears poured down Violet's face.

He felt so helpless sitting there, while a girl who he had never met, cried over his dead brother. Yet again the question he had kept asking himself popped into his head: Why didn't he tell me? George just couldn't understand it. The moon shone through the window of the tree house, which made the tears on Violet's face glisten.

Finally, Violet's sobs subsided.

"I guess you want to know how I met your brother." Violet said, taking a deep breath. "Well about a year ago there was a fair on the village green and I went there with my father to help him with his stall, he's a butcher you see. Anyway, my father sent me on an errand to go and fetch some lunch for him and my mother who were still working on the stall and as I wandered through the fair, I noticed Fred. He looked at me and gave me that cheeky grin of his and walked over towards me. I had never seen him around before, so naturally I was curious.

We began to talk, Freddie cracked a few jokes and we had a bit of fun. Obviously I had to leave as my mother and father were expecting me., so we agreed to meet again the next day. We kept meeting up and eventually he told me that he was a wizard, for some reason I instantly believed him. He was so sincere. Because it was dangerous for us to keep meeting so frequently, Fred devised a plan. He created a box that could be transported to each other, which we wrote letters and placed into. That of course you must have seen from the letter I sent dear Freddie earlier. We decided to keep the whole thing a secret until after the war, where we would then tell our families and maybe... Get married." She then burst into fresh tears.

George then understood why Fred hadn't told him, he didn't want any harm coming to Violet, so he didn't tell a soul, not even his own brother. This sudden realisation made George feel as though a great burden had been lifted from him.

Both he and Violet eventually climbed down the ladder after sitting together in a friendly silence, which was better than talking. They both said goodbye and parted ways. George apparated back to the shop and Violet walked back to the butcher's, wiping tears from her face.

As George changed into his pajamas and was about to get into bed, a thought suddenly popped into his head. He grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled on it and placed it into the box. It instantly disappeared in another blinding flash of light.

Violet was staring at her ceiling in her bedroom when she was startled by the bright light of the box that appeared on her bedside table. she opened it and saw a piece of parchment. It read:

If you ever want to talk, I'm here.

George


	2. Chapter 2

The day after Violet was told about Fred's death, all she kept thinking about was the note George sent her. Why is he being so nice to me? Violet thought, puzzled. She just didn't understand it. The hardest part was trying to keep her grief covered up as neither her friends or her family knew about Fred and they just wouldn't believe her even if she did tell them.

Every day, Violet would lock up her sadness and tears until she got into bed each evening where she would cry herself to sleep. Her parents noticed that she was oddly quiet and had confronted her but she denied of anything being wrong. She knew it was bad to keep something as serious as this to herself, but she couldn't think of anything she could do about.

After one particular hard day to get through, about a week after she heard the news, Violet awoke from a distressing dream in which she saw Fred dying, while she stood there helpless, unable to stop what was happening, screaming and crying at him. She was drenched in sweat with tears streaming down her face. She felt more alone than ever. It was in this particular vunerable moment that Violet decided to do something that she had forbidden herself to do before. Talk to George.

She got out of her bed and headed over to her desk where a clock sat. It read 01:15. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, she shakily wrote George a note:

George,

I hope you won't mind my asking, but I simply cannot keep this to myself much more. I need to share my grief with someone and you're the only person other than Fred and I who knew about us. If you can, or even want to, meet me at the tree house we were at before tomorrow at eleven pm.

Violet

Before she could change her mind Violet shoved the note into the box, and with a familiar flash it disappeared...

Knowing that she most probably wouldn't hear from George until the morning, Violet went back to bed, where she fell into another restless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

George awoke at The Burrow to Mrs Weasley walking in with breakfast on a tray. It was Sunday morning and he had been working hard at the shop the day before with Ron.

"George dear, what's this funny little box? Is it another of your experiments for the shop?"

George dozily looked to where his mother was pointing, on his bedside table. There lay the box which Fred and Violet used. He had no idea why it was there, he didn't think it was there when he went to bed... But that must mean Violet sent him something.

Obviously because Mrs Weasley didn't know about Violet, George had to cover up the truth.

"Err... Yeah. I wouldn't open it if I were you." George said, hastily grabbing the box.

Mrs Weasley gave him an odd look and wandered back to the kitchen. As soon as her footsteps had disappeared, George opened the box and grabbed the paper that was slightly scrunched up in it. He read it and then stared blankly at it, thinking: Well, Fred wouldn't want me to not help her... It'll probably be just this one time.

So he decided, rather reluctantly, to agree to meet her that night. He told his parents that he needed to sort out a few things before tomorrow and would leave in the evening and stay over at the shop. George had no idea what he was going to do when he met with Violet. He didn't much like talking about Fred's death with anyone and definitely didn't want to with someone he had only just met. Sure, he had sent her that note, but he didn't think she would take it seriously. He didn't want to her to see him crying, even if he tried to hold it in, he knew a few tears would escape.

Throughout the whole of the day, George was kept too busy to think about Violet. Although the same could not be said for her.

Her mother and father noticed the change in Violet's behaviour and decided to give her time off from working in the shop. She hated every second she was alone with her thoughts. As soon as she was by herself, they swarmed around her, like violent wasps inside her brain, not making any sense. Violet wanted to be kept busy, to do something with her hands so that her brain wouldn't have to think. Much to her disappointment, the day went torturously slow for her and she kept begging the time to go faster so that she could see George.

George's day, on the other hand, went (much to his annoyance) rather too quickly and soon it was time for him to meet with Violet.

"This is for Fred." George muttered as he apparated to the tree house where he and Violet met before.

George stood at the foot of the tree and took a deep breath, willing himself to clamber up the tree. When he reached the top, he saw Violet already sitting in a corner, tear tracks down her face. She gave him a watery smile. He smiled nervously back.

He smiled at me, that must be a good sign. Thought Violet, looking into George's eyes.

"You came." She smiled, still staring at him.

George smiled again, feeling more confident this time and sat next to her, leaning against the wall. He then started talking about his life with Fred, playing Quidditch at The Burrow, at Hogwarts and describing each of the pranks that they both pulled whilst at school. He didn't know why he was telling Violet this. He hardly knew her, but he felt so at ease, and it felt like he could finally breathe for a long time since Fred's death.

Violet didn't speak a word while George told her all of this. It was obvious that he just wanted someone to talk to, someone to listen and relive Fred's memory with him. She smiled again.

"You're so much like him." She breathed looking up at his face, the same face that Fred had. "Not only in looks, but in personality, you have the same smile, sense of humour, everything."

He looked back at her, his breath catching. What was she trying to say?

It all happened so quickly, Violet reached up and cupped his face in her hand and pulled it towards her own, kissing him lightly on the lips. George kissed her back.

"Freddie..." The whisper slipped out of her mouth before she could stop it.

This made George come to his senses. He pulled away from Violet and stood up.

Violet tried to grab at his hand, apologising over and over, saying how she didn't mean to, how it wasn't her fault. But it was all clear to George. To her he was just a replacement of Fred. They looked the same, in her eyes they acted the same and were the same person. But they weren't.

"I'm sorry. But I'm not Fred. We are not the same person." George whispered softly, although to Violet he might as well have shouted it at her. It hit her like a blow to the stomach.

And just like that he was gone. She never saw him again.


End file.
